What kind of vision did you have when you started and how has it changed over the years?
-From the beginning we had a clear vision and the band’s name is a constant reminder. It is also a call for perseverance and an attitude. There is a change of the parameter and we must remember the old ways and find new ways to survive this bestial mentality and the brutalization of mankind. It is high time to take up a position. All musicians of OSDOU fight in their struggle for survival, in politics, environment and civil society. We have seen the world, from the deserts of Libya to the Nordic ice sea. We did our drill and education, we are prepared. At the beginning our band was a raw, analogue piece of anger and pain. We started the band to celebrate an ugly, wounded sound. Rude Sludge Core and slow-rumbling Black Metal was our intention. With our new album we tried to made a timeless album in sound and composition. There is so much 70s Brit-Folk, Classic Rock, spiritual Doom and Black Metal, Post Rock and dark Ambient, with a forceful metal sound.

Does location mean anything today? We used to hear about how it was all location, location, location back in the days if you wanted to make it big? That you had to come from a certain place to be sure to make it.
-We don’t think in such categories. Much more important is our love to any kind of art with a deep message, attitude and a healing character. Music, painting, poetry, visuals, all these mediums are able to let us feel, to open our hearts, eyes and ears for what really happens every day in the universe.Barth, our bass player, has a sacred place in the alps of Salzburg/Austria. We also started a festival there years ago, which is now called House of the Holy. It began with the vision of a place where modern ceremonies could be cultivated. We built a cromlech on the mountain to have the function of a temple. This is a meeting point for our families, our friends from across the world, and for different types of people. People were skeptical to begin with, but now everything has changed. It is hard to decribe, but you can get an idea in our new video clip featuring „Gold and Silver“ from the new album. Such sacred places are an important influence for our music.

What is it like to be a in a band and to get to tour all over the world? What kind of feelings do that bring about?
-Playing a live show is a ritual, no matter where or when we play! There are tons of bands out there playing shows for the masses that want to party, that`s also important, but we are definitely not one of these bands! What`s important for us is to affect the audience, to melt the ice in their hearts. There’s one energy-field on stage and another in the audience; a link is established by the way we convey our tunes, in the movement of rhythm. Our live shows are all about breaking the third wall, which a lot of bands fail to do. We believe in authenticity and interaction with the audience.

What kind of feedback have you had on your music, your latest album and in general? How important is feedback?
-Of course we are curious how people react to our work. The main risk is to get lost in this state of mind. If you stop being curious or refuse to develop your point of view, your conviction, then your mind is unable to grow and your personality sticks into fear and damnation. We constantly release records, produce Video Clips or work on other projects. We don`t have a masterplan, we just live our life and follow our inspiration.

How do you know that you have written a “hit” song? Is there a particular feeling you get when you know that this is the one, this is the big “make it song”?
-The most difficult thing is the whole process to find a transmitter to form experience into inspiration and bring it to life with sound and music. It is hard to describe, but our musical form of expression is a growing organism, not a conscious decision to write a „hit“. We have no interest in becoming famous or joining this typical musician-thinking.

As I am no musician I will never got to know the difference of analogue and digital. Can you explain the difference to me? what are the pros and cons of analogue V/S digital?
-Well, our main priority was never just to be musicians but also to bring out what’s inside us. Of course there’s a technical requirement. Instruments are also a technical tool of bringing this out of us, to transform and create and feel emotions, for the music to be as beautiful as possible. In a way, there’s a balancing act between analogue and digital during the production process. We recorded our album live as a band to catch the spontaneous vibes and later we did the additional recordings with guest musicians. It is like collecting many pieces of a puzzle in different recording sessions. The real challenge is the mixing process, to bring it all together, especially when you have many diverse musical styles. Victor Santura (TRIPTYKON) and Michael Zech (THE RUINS OF BEVERAST) did the postproduction and mastering, they are geniuses!

What is it like to have people you never met liking your music and singing along to it at gigs?
-We enjoy the live situation when we are able to achieve a kind of trance, so that the flow can connect everything. I think a musical performance is more than the five individuals on stage. We try to activate all senses of the audience, eyes, ears, noses and their hearts.

How important are lyrics to you guys? Do you have any messages that you want to get forward?
-Oh, the lyrics are very important! It is often hard and painful to generate empathy and self-reflection. In fact we have always been spiritual beings, this is an important part of our existence. This is why we are longing for art and metaphysical experiences. And it is also the main conflict of our society. We handle all areas of social life in a materialistic and economic way and accept it like laws of nature. At the end of the day you cannot be a truly spiritual being unless you are committed to the overthrow of consumerism. This is the reason why there is no proper religious direction within the songs. It is all about transformation and your potential to melt the frozen hearts of men.

I love a really cool cover but I get the feeling that today with all this digital uploading/downloading people aren’t that concerned about artwork. How do you feel?
-I’m right there with you. We love the artworks of Derek Riggs, Dan Seagrave or the whole art of Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell with Hipgnosis. We consider ourself fortunate to work with two fantastic artists. Elijah Tamu and Alex “Irrwisch” Trinkl did a great job for “Melting the ice in the hearts of men”. Vàn Records gave them the perfect look! The CD digipack, LP gatefold and the vinyl “lavish edition” are amazing!
Thanks for the interview Anders! All the best for you!